ChatGPT Knows Too Much: 8 Ways to Lock Down Your Privacy
ChatGPT Knows Too Much: 8 Ways to Lock Down Your Privacy
https://www.pcmag.com/explainers/chatgpt-knows-too-much-8-ways-to-lock-down-your-privacy
Publish Date: 2026-06-16 11:04:00
Source Domain: www.pcmag.com
AI chatbots feed off your data. In most cases, your data is used to personalize future responses, but some companies use the information to train their AI. Others sell that data to advertisers. With ChatGPT, OpenAI promises to anonymize much of the data it collects, but you still may want to limit what it scoops up. ChatGPT lets you choose whether to share private details, limit the types of information collected, and take other steps to protect your identity. Here are several things I’ve done to protect my privacy on ChatGPT, and how you can too.
1. Use ChatGPT Without an Account
If you already use ChatGPT, you may have created an account to sign in. I have a paid ChatGPT Plus subscription, but an account opens the door to the collection of certain data points. Instead, just use it without an account. Even though I have an existing account, I’ll sometimes use ChatGPT without signing in if I need to ask a basic question I don’t want tracked.
Without an account, you can still submit the usual types of requests, run web searches, and even attach images for analysis. The main drawback is that ChatGPT serves up a basic version of the AI without advanced features. OpenAI may also restrict the topics you’re able to discuss in order to get you to use an account. Still, if you only need the basics and don’t want to expose your conversations or data, this should work fine for many users.
(Credit: PCMag / OpenAI)
2. Don’t Sign in With Google, Apple, or Microsoft
If you do plan to create an account, OpenAI offers a few options. At the ChatGPT screen, click the Sign up for free button in the upper right, where you can use your Google, Apple, or Microsoft accounts or sign up with your own email address and password. My advice is to avoid using your Google or Microsoft account, since certain information will be shared with OpenAI.
Signing in with Apple is a better choice, but only if you use the Hide My Email feature that comes with iCloud+,…
